Foobtasticification of Bachmann Shorty Passenger Cars for PRR

[narrowminded]

Thank-you Tom D!   Very helpful.  Lots to peruse there.

First thing I determined is the ride height is perfect to the thousandths of an inch.  That's one thing down.   Also saw some seating arrangements with the back against the wall, which I think may have been early vintage, but most with the expected bench seats.  Still don't know if they would have been using the jump style seat backs to choose the seating direction.  Seems like they would have had those and I think that's what I'll do, alternating them so two are facing each other, two back to back.  Maybe I should mix that up a little.  It still wouldn't require turning cars for direction.

[thomasjmdavis]

I mention this just because the old Lima/MP cars are readily available and often cheap (not withstanding the eBay sellers trying to get $29.95 ea lately).  But anyway, those cars are relatively easy to cut down into shorties that have a PRR look to them.


Car in the middle of that group is one that I picked up 3rd hand in a box of misc passenger cars.  Former Lima/MP coach, the modeler who bashed it also rounded the roof (looks better in person than in the photo).  Not sure that it is a model of any particular prototype, but certainly could be.

You have a printer, right? design some trucks to recycle the electric pickup. Measure the axle spacing and shrink the length of a 2DP5 styled side frame to match the pickup spacing on the original trucks. Design the bolster center beam of the truck to mate in the same fashion as the original. I don’t know the design of these trucks though.

 
Assuming what I think are Bachmann trucks in my parts box really are, they have the same axle spacing (+/- a hundredth or 2) as the trucks on my Hellgate B60b, which (IIRC) are the Des Plaines models version of a 2DP5.  That said, always take anything I say about PRR equipment with a grain of salt- I am hardly an expert.

[narrowminded]

@dougnelson hooked me up with a set of trucks.   Thanks very much, Doug.

I could still use three more sets.  Two would be for color change from silver so I could paint them in a pinch but I'd much prefer the molded color on Delrin.  One set would be for replacement of a questionable wear set.